ONE CHILD POLICY

One Child Policy in China

One Child Policy in China

Introduction

Established in 1979, the one-child policy has established severe penalties for Chinese couples who do not fulfill the law. The legislation, which does not apply to members of ethnic minorities or descendants of couples who are only children, covers 63% of the country's provinces and generated unexpected and unwanted consequences, such as the predominance of adult males. According to the document of the Chinese National Bureau of Statistics, while the number of births has grown 0.17% in 2012, compared to the previous year and reaching 16.35 million new Chinese, the population of working age had a decline of 0.6%, which means 3.54 million workers within the country. In this context, National Bureau of Statistics of China (2009) states that China needs new appropriate and scientific planning laws for the families.

The Minister responsible for the National Family Planning Commission, Wang Xia, made a statement in January saying that there will be changes in birth control, which, it is estimated will prevent the birth of 400 million Chinese. The debate, however, come raging between proponents of the end of politics and Beijing. However, if Chinese continue like this, they will have no more tax payers, workers or people caring for the elderly (United Nations General Assembly, 1994). China must also consider the inefficiency of labor in the country. In this context, this paper will critically discuss the one-child policy of China and its impact on different segments of China.

Discussion and Analysis

Implemented in 1979, China's one-child policy is one of the most significant, yet controversial, programs of planned fertility. It emerged as a panacea for the country's many pressing social problems, including population crisis, poverty, inflation, agricultural stagnation, inadequate school facilities and unemployment (Chow & Chen, 1989). The one-child policy was designed to restrict population growth, thereby advancing economic prosperity in China. Since the inception of the one-child policy in 1979, China's population has decreased by about 250 million (Kane & Choi, 1999). This reduction in fertility has eased some of the pressures on communities, the state, and the environment in a country that still carries one fifth of the world's population. Moreover, because of the low fertility rate, China can focus on developing its economy and raising the living standards of its people. Since 1979, an unprecedented 150 million people have been lifted out of poverty (Potts, 2006). As Greenhalgh (2003a) suggests, the one-child policy has served as a means for China to accelerate its industrialization and modernization, catch up with the West, and achieve its rightful place in a global stage.

Despite these positive effects, China's one-child population policy has been highly controversial and it has been criticized by the Western world as “totalitarian,” “coercive,” “barbaric”and“uncivilized” (Ebenstein, 2010; Greenhalgh, 2003a; Li, 1989; and Wasserstrom, 1984). While the focus of the debate is on the nature of the one-child policy (for example, whether the policy is humane, or whether the policy violates the basic human rights of individual freedom), the impact of ...